Proud of her courage, he said, “Christina and Trevor are on their way over here now. We’ll take care of everything.”

“You can’t be involved with this, Nick. You’re running for office. This’ll be a nightmare for you.”

“Of course I’m involved with it. I told you before I ever accepted this job that you come first and you always will. Political fallout is the very last thing on my mind right now. This is happening to you because of me and my job. You have to let me fix it. I need to fix it, Sam.”

Biting her lip, she studied him for a long time. “Okay.”

Nick called Celia and asked her to bring Skip over as soon as possible. Returning the phone to his pocket, he reached for Sam’s hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Chapter 34

“No way, Senator,” Christina said. “You cannot go out there and read this. It’s political suicide to attach yourself so vocally to this issue.”

“I’m attaching myself to her, not the issue.”

Astounded, Christina stared at him. “Are you really that naive?”

Trevor cleared his throat.

“Speak,” Nick said.

The communications director glanced at Christina. “I, um, I agree with the senator.” Before she could pounce, he said, “The entire region is caught up in their romance. People will respond to him sticking up for her.”

“You’ve lost your minds—both of you,” Christina retorted. “He’s a United States senator who’s going to tell the world that his girlfriend planned to have an abortion before a well-timed miscarriage saved the day. An abortion!”

“I’m going to say that fifteen years ago, when she was still a student, my girlfriend planned to have a legal medical procedure to end a pregnancy she was unequipped to handle at that time in her life. I’m going to tell them she miscarried before the procedure was performed and she’s regretted the decisions she made at that time ever since. I’ll say I love her, I support her and I support the right of all women to choose. Then I will tell them that neither the lieutenant nor I will have another word to say about this. Ever.”

“Why can’t someone from her family read the statement?” Christina asked. “Why does it have to be you?”

“Because I am her family, and this is happening to her because of me.”

“How do you figure?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Christina? You don’t see the connection?”

Trevor cleared his throat again. “If he hadn’t agreed to finish Senator O’Connor’s term, no one would care about Lieutenant Holland’s past.”

“Thank you, Trevor,” Nick said, his eyes fixed on Christina.